EXILED INDIAN PRINCE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19382, 17 July 1926, Page 2 (Supplement)

EXILED INDIAN PRINCE.

HOW THRONE WAS LOST. LOYE FOR DANCING GIRL. VISIT TO " THE WEST." GREAT BLAZE OF SPLENDOUR. His Highness Tukaji-liao, the ex-Maha-rajah of Indore, who lost his throne over Mumtaz Begum, a dancing girl attached to his court, had intended going over to London, but recently arrived .'it his villa in Switzerland. A correspondent, of the Sunday News has had the honour of obtaining an audience with this ex-ruler of one of the largest native states of India, and found His Highness entirely unruffled by this turn of his fortune. The ex-Maharajah, tall and Slim, is an extremely handsome young man of three and thirty, and he is accompanied by a suite of twenty courtiers, his old and devoted servants who chose exile with their old chief rather than take up offices under the new ruler, his son. The resignation of the ex-Maharajah has made but little difference in the flow of his wealth, since the terms of the abdication secure him a fabulous yearly pension, and His Highness still retains a large share of the State jewels for his lifetime. That is why the writer found the eastern pomp and splendour surrounding His Highness as magnificent as ever. The regular supply of holy water of the sacred Ganges, which was shipped at Bombay every week for the prince when he visited England in 1921, is continued as well as all tho foodstuffs, including rice and lentils, which the rigid exactions of Brahminism would not allow 'the prince to buy in a non-Rrahminic country. Two Years in the West. All this attendance to tho personal wishes of the ex-Maharajah and compliance with the demands of his religion ar v e to be continued as long as His Highness remains in the west, which he himself states will be for at least two years. It might be expected that tho Prince, after losing a territory of close upon 10,000 square miles of rich and fertile country, would be broken in spirit, but he is as cheerful and cool as of yore. As soon as the Prince's train stopped at a Continental station the 20 courtiers and 30 domestics who comprise Ins staff formed a circle, some in bejeweiled red turbans, outside the compartment His Highness had occupied, and shouted, according to custom, "Hail, Maharajah! Your servants, your slaves have spread their eyes on the ground for their Maharajah to walk upon." At the second shot His Highness loft tho train, and as he stepped on the blue velvet carpet set with stars of gold the Lord Chamberlain opened," over the head of tho Prince, the Chatar Shahi, the Royal canopy, of white velvet, with a picture of the full sun in go>Jd in the middle and a fringe of fine, small pearls around it.

At sight of the Prince the whole circle of the courtiers went down upon their knees and,, stretching their panels toward the Prince, exclaimed: "Hail! Hail! Now our eyes are cooled since we have seen the pur<j diamond that gives light to the world. Hail! Hail! Our Master, our Lord, our Prince! The prowess of our arm, the breath of our nostrils is under your feet. . But the privilege to serve you is ours. Hail! Hail." The Europeans at the station looked at the group quizzically, l>ut» of course they did. ivf understand the language. Conversation with Interviewer.' The ceremony performed at the station was rather unusual, but the forced abdication of the Maharajah had made him exceedingly popular among his subjects, since the custom in pro-British times was that a Prince who had been forced by the Great Mogul to abdicate was either beheaded at once or privately assassinated, or turned out into a thick forest without even his clothes. The cdurtiers and the friends of the ex-Maharajah, therefore, regard the personal liberty granted to the Prince as a great boon. When the correspondent was left' alone with the Maharajah at his villa, his great desire was to know what the unfortunate Prince felt about his losses, and, if possible, to; mention the name, " Mumtaz" in his presence and study the colours that might amount up to his handsome face. But tho subject was difficult to introduce, especially as the courtier had given a warning that the abdication was never mentioned in conversation, and the name of Murutaz was entirely taboo. Tho writer says: "In my extremity, I was glad to notice that the great ruby which has been valued by tho Paris jewellery at £IOO,OOO was still worn by the Princa, and, reverting to it, I remarked: 'The sea air, at any rate, does not affect the lustre of the precious stones.' " 'Nor the lustre of the precious rulers of the world,' observed the Maharajah, with a laugh." " Certainly the Maharajah." " I felt at my ease now and regarded the moment propitious for mentioning tho topic uppermost in my mind. " ' Yes, Maharaj Adhiraj,' I proceeded —the word Adhiraj corresponds to the English word Imperial—' a Prince is a prince, and will always be respected as a prince.' " 'Ah!' said His Highness, 'it is not all honey to sit on a throne. " Uneasy rests the crown. . . ."—we forget the

words of Shakespeare, but whit he says is quite true.' "Then, after a. little while: 'We suppose you are anxious to know what we feel about our Indore. We have never felt so happy as we did on the day we gave Indore to our Yeshwant—his Son—the present Maharajah, We have been very happy ever since.' "I did not press the Maharajah further upon the point, and began to talk about Switzerland. " ' Next to our Kashmir, perhaps Switzerland is the most picturesque country in the world. The air here is most salubrious,' remarked the prince." "But the Maharajah was evidently still thinking of his abdication, since he replied: 'Yes, we shall be more ot a Maharajah here in Switzerland than we were at Indore. In any event, there will be no anxieties and no matters pressed for immediate decisions. We are told that there is plenty of game here, and there is no likelihood of any interference with the management of our palace here (meaning the villa), We are certainly the Maharajah here in our palace.' The last seirtence was delivered with great mirth." Love for the Dancing Girl. The writer was anxious to know why the Maharajah gave up his original idea of residing in England, where a great country house has already been got ready for him. The Maharajah, however, stated that, though he would prefer to live in England and might even now go to that country there were difficulties connected with the etiquette at the English Court. His Highness was not quite sure if he would not have to accept a position lower than that to which ho thinks himself entitled. As the interviewer spoke of his interesting personality His Highness put up his hand of prohibition and gave a burning sigh. His face turned into a mixture of dejection and disappointment. It was seen at once that passion for Mumtaz. the dancing girl, still rages unabated in the breast of'the unfortunate Maharajah, and that he thinks nothing of the loss of his kingdom as compared to the loss of ' that charming and fascinating girl. Mumtaz is now married, and is pected to reach England with her busband shortly.